Samsung Galaxy S8

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has of course been subject to the usual rumours and conjecture, as well as the expected anticipation that goes with a flagship release. It’s out now, and it is extremely impressive.

Samsung’s bezel-busting infinity screen, which debuted on the S6, has become standard. Both the S8 and S8 Plus will offer this striking feature, letting you enjoy an immersive and innovative display experience.

If you’re unfamiliar with the screen, dubbed ‘edge’ on previous releases, then the display actually folds over the side. It obviously allows for a larger screen on the device, but it also creates something akin to that fascinating infinity pool aesthetic. ‘Edge-less’ videos and images just have that extra element of cool.

The S8’s Super AMOLED screen measures 5.8 inches, which is a boost up from its S7 equivalent. You are also treated to the new 18.5:9 aspect ratio, so you’re getting a ‘super widescreen’ gift which you should cherish with appropriate aplomb.

It’s bright, perfectly crisp and rich with colour. You’ll watch stuff, it will look brilliant, you’ll watch more stuff. The dance will go like that until you need sleep.

With great screen extension comes great… erm, physical home button removal. Instead you get on-screen navigation keys, with a pressure-sensitive home button.

The fingerprint sensor has moved to the back, and it’s reasonably well placed for convenience, but may take some getting used to.

The phone looks great as well; the rounded edges complement the infinity screen, and it just feels ridiculously high-end. It’s also massive, and it’s not even the massive one, so single-thumb reach is very much on a case-by-case basis.

Onto the rear-facing camera, and you’ll get something that is very similar to the S7. It’s 12 megapixels, with an f/1.7 aperture, and the differences are down to software. Some may gripe that this is hardly an upgrade, but it’s a superb camera nonetheless.

There’s a new 8-megapixel front-facing camera with autofocus and face detection. Next to this is the iris scanner, which appears to function very well.

The S8 runs on Samsung’s latest Exynos chipset, which is an octa-core beast backed by 4GB of RAM. It is a juggernaut of a processor, and needless to say it effortlessly flies and glides through any and every task you can throw at it.

Storage is doubled to 64GB, and expandable by microSD to as much as 256GB. There’s a 3000mAh battery, as well as Samsung’s fast-charging tech, and you have wireless or fast wireless charging.

What we think

It’s awesome. Without doubt that screen could end up being the best of 2017. It’s a stunning phone, and even though it is seriously pricey, you are getting something that impresses on every level, and you’ll never tire of that beautiful screen.